As much as I tried, I never fully got into this book. It may have been because I picked it up, read a few pages, and then put it down several times, breaking my concentration. I always had to go back a few pages to remind myself what was happening. I also never connected with the main character, but I thoroughly enjoyed the wry humor on every page. Because the topic is meta, being a mystery novel about a series of mystery novels, the book requires a quiet space, close attention, and a little time to appreciate it fully.
In the story, Rima lost her father, Bim Lansill, who had leukemia. Her beloved brother, Oliver, and mother died a few years before. Depressed and alone, Rima is invited to live with her godmother, the famous murder mystery writer A.B. Early, known as Addison. She arrives at a house called Wit's End. She meets a host of eccentric characters, from the housekeeper, Tilda, with an alcohol problem, and her adult son, who is an occasional overnight guest, to the dog walkers, Cody and Scorch, college students who like to party. The two dachshunds, Berkeley and Stanford, are willful, incorrigible, and hilarious.
As Rima accustoms herself to her new environment, she becomes interested in discovering more about her father's relationship with Addison. The series of books that Addison writes features a detective named Maxwell Lane. Her father, Bim Lansill, is also a character in one of the books. He is the villain. Rima wants to know more, but Addison only gives cryptic answers. One day, as Rima is filling in for Cody and Scorch by walking the dogs, she is approached by a woman who, before Rima knows it, comes into Wit's End uninvited and makes off with part of a diorama illustrating a murder in one of Addison's books. Things for Rima get a lot more complicated as she starts having dreams about Maxwell Lane and hearing her brother's voice. She believes she is being stalked by the woman who invaded the house, and her questions about her father won't leave her alone. Rima begins to see Tilda’s son as a fill-in younger brother, and together they set a plan to find out more about her father and Addison. Rima learns that you need to be careful what you wish for.
What I enjoyed most about this novel is the dry humor and sharp observations of human behavior that Karen Joy Fowler makes through her characters. Although I found the plot overly complicated, I loved her wit and writing. I recommend this book to mystery readers looking for something out of the ordinary.
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